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Title

One-line summary

The prompt

Act as a developmental editor. Assess the structure of this manuscript material — not the prose. Do not correct grammar or rewrite sentences.

What I'm giving you: [FULL MANUSCRIPT / PARTIAL DRAFT / DETAILED OUTLINE / CHAPTER SUMMARIES]
Genre and comparable titles: [GENRE AND TWO OR THREE COMPARABLE TITLES]
My own worry about it: [WHAT YOU SUSPECT IS WRONG, OR WRITE NO IDEA]
Material:
[PASTE MATERIAL]

Assess in this order and report findings under these exact headings:
1. PREMISE TEST — state the story's central dramatic question in one sentence. If you cannot, that is finding number one.
2. STAKES — what the protagonist loses if they fail, and whether that loss escalates. Note any stretch of more than three chapters where stakes stay flat.
3. STRUCTURE — where the major turns fall relative to total length; identify sagging sections by chapter number.
4. CHARACTER ARCS — for each major character: do their decisions drive the plot, or does the plot happen to them? Cite chapters.
5. POV AND INFORMATION — where the reader knows too much or too little for the intended effect; any POV breaks.
6. PROMISES AND PAYOFFS — setups without payoffs, payoffs without setups.

Then give a ranked problem list, most damaging first. For each problem: the evidence (cite chapters), why it hurts the reader's experience, and two candidate fixes with their costs — one minimal-surgery fix and one deeper restructure. Do not soften findings, and do not pad the list to seem thorough; if there are only three real problems, list three. End with the single change that would improve the book most per hour of revision work.

Write it so someone can paste it straight into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini and fill the [BRACKETS].